Dr. Siegfried Eggl

Asteroids and Aliens?

A California Institute of Technology (Caltech) post doctoral reseracher at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
I am investigating how best to change the path of an
asteroid that is set on collision course with our planet.
More precisely, I am working on making asteroid deflection as safe as possible for by understanding where exactly the asteroid is going,
once we have manipulated its orbit. No worries, we are not planning to send your favourite actor
to space any time soon. Instead, we advocate to make a deflection test run in order to make sure the international community
is prepared to protect the Earth from an asteroid impact, should that become necessary.
During my previous post doctoral research at the Institute for Celestial Mechanics and Ephemeris Calculation (IMCCE)
for the European led NEOShield project.
Apart from Near Earth objects, I am working on extra solar planets
in double star systems.
An Earth with two suns may sound like science fiction, but planets have already been discovered in such configurations.
Following up on results in my doctoral thesis that I wrote during my studies with the Astro Dynamics Group (ADG) of the University of Vienna
my collaborators and me are trying to answer the following question: Where can one find habitable Earth-like planets in double star systems?
Those any of the above sound interesting to you?
Then, you may find more detailed information on my research page.